Ventimiglia Battaglia di Fiori

Battaglia dei Fiori or the Battle of Flowers is held once every two years in Ventimiglia. This festival is a celebration of the spring season, when the communities that make up Ventimiglia compete to create the best, most extravagant float to be judged during a parade. These floats are made almost entirely of flowers, and there can be as many as 80,000 flowers on a float.

The floats parade around the town on two days. The first is a night parade, with dancing, music and food. Everything culminates in spectacular fireworks while the floats are repaired and touched up—ready for the following day. The next day, float girls climb aboard their communities’ entries, bands fire up, and dancers and entertainers pour out onto the street. The parade loops around the town two or three times, at which point everyone in the parade starts showering the crowd with flowers.